Saturday: When I arrived, Boston greeted me with snow flurries and rain. Ah, walking through dirty slush… Got to Mimi’s place - the chinchilla is as cute as ever. Satisfied a craving for donuts at Dunkin’ Donuts with (I thought it was particularly appropriate) a Boston Kreme donut. Mmmm…. I do wish they had Dunkin’ Donuts in California.
It’s getting warmer and warmer… Temperatures in the 80s today… It’s only mid-march!!!
meanwhile… it’s snowing in Boston. *snicker* I do miss snow though.
Almost done with this quarter!!
Mike and I went to the Mondavi center to see the UCD symphony orchestra perform Handel’s organ concerto in b-minor and Beethoven’s 9th symphony. The organ concerto featured Martin Neary as the soloist. He exudes jolly British refinement. Some people *cough*Ryan*cough* don’t like the organ… but I think the organ’s an awesome example of engineering innovation… not to mention the physical dexterity involved in playing with hands AND feet. The Handel concerto itself wasn’t extraordinary. It sounded too simple and … generic.
As for Beethoven’s 9th symphony… where do I begin with all the nostalgia? I used to fall asleep listening to a CD of the 9th symphony back when we lived in Somerville. I would usually fall asleep before the 3rd movement, so sometimes I would skip ahead to the 4th movement and have that on repeat. The moment when the baritone begins to sing, mirroring the intensity of the cellos just moments before… aaah, how do I describe what feelings music evokes? There was also that Beethoven Lives Upstairs movie that my mom borrowed for us from the West branch of the Somerville library which I still think is awesome. That was a quality children’s movie.
Cute quote from The Simpsons:
“Lisa, the world needs you to go to Wellesley!”
Day 1: Sleepy. Falling asleep on the plane was uncomfortable and I was cold. Why is San Diego not the 70 degree year-round sunfest everyone claims it is? They lied!! This Catamaran resort is absolutely GORGEOUS. The hotel itself is a site to behold. Koi, black swans, “exotic” ducks… palm trees and water everywhere… If only I was here solely for pleasure! It’s literally beach-front… I’m sitting on a balcony now, looking at the beach (not the Pacific ocean… just a bay. Mission Bay?) and listening to classical music semi-dressed up. :) It’s nice..
Evening update: Presentation is done! Done!! There’s no doubt about it… I despise public speaking. Nearly fell asleep while practicing. Anyway, I went down to Mission Bay to get a good view of sunset. Wrong direction. Mission Beach is the one I should have headed towards. Man giving off “CREEPY” vibe told me about moon jellyfish in the water and I went down the dock to look. They were gorgeous… I tried to take pictures, but god damn transparency!! Didn’t see the black swans in the evening… perhaps they were hiding. Watched 2 ducks bully another. Ducks are yummy, but mean.
Day 2: This hotel has a cockatoo named Chadwick. NDSS is actually quite nice. I won CREATURE SPEAKERS from the raffle. I saw the sunset from a beach… and I finally talked to people my age. Initially, every time I talked to “young people” they turned out to be professors. Today, I talked to actual students. :) That was pleasant. And less stressful. I like this conference a lot more now. :) Everything’s better after you’ve given your talk. ^^;;
Day 3: Pretty low key. A lot of people left already. I was pleasantly surprised when someone I was sitting next to at lunch still remembered my talk. During the last session, I witnessed an “academic battle” and the prof next to me explained the “academic overhead” of delving into a well-researched area… :) Originally I planned to go walk around San Diego, but the shuttle is coming to pick me up at 6:15, so that gives me ~hour or so of free time… It’s hotel lobby for me. Hm. Took a picture of Chadwick this morning. The macaws are rather cute, especially when they speak. God I hope I get another NDSS paper next year!
Eventually I’ll post pictures. :)